Many automotive vehicles utilize drum brake assemblies. Typically, a drum brake assembly includes a parking brake assembly. The parking brake assembly is activated by a cable connected on one end to the parking brake assembly and at the other end to a brake lever or foot pedal. Parking brake assemblies of the type associated with a drum brake assembly are well known in the art.
Assembly constraints often require that the cable be attached to the parking brake assembly and corresponding vehicle axle prior to placing or assembling the axle on the vehicle. This results in the need to somehow attach or couple the cable to the parking brake assembly and axle of the vehicle during shipping and prior to final assembly. Such an arrangement requires that the cable be threaded through a body of the vehicle and attached to the brake lever or foot pedal during the final assembly process. Such assemblies result in increased assembly time and cost.
Drum brake assemblies have been developed that allow installation of a cable to the drum brake assembly after the drum brake assembly and axle are placed on the motor vehicle. These are typically referred to as a blind assembly or connection. Such connections are known as a blind assembly because the operator cannot see or manipulate each of the components being attached within the drum brake assembly. Several types of such blind cable assemblies or connections are known. The basic design includes a brake cable having an enlarged end thereon, that is inserted through an opening in a back plate of the drum brake assembly. Once inside, the enlarged end on the cable contacts and is connected to an end of an actuating lever for the parking brake assembly that is pivotally mounted on the back plate.